77: Peer-to-peer lending in China—Tech-driven shadow banking with Andrew Polk

China Tech Talk

China’s online peer-to-peer lending industry has been in turmoil for the last three years as financial regulators have clamped down as part of “de-risking” efforts. Tuandai.com, a top P2P lender, collapsed in March due to turnover problems. As of February, the platform had more than 220,000 investors with RMB 14.5 billion ($2.15 billion) in outstanding loans. The company is under investigation for illegal fundraising, leading to the arrest of 41 people so far, including co-owners Tang Jun and Zhang Lin.

This week, Andrew Polk, partner at Trivium China, joins us to discuss what's happening with the P2P lending industry in China.

Key questions:

• What role has the government played in the growth and death of P2P lending?
• How is the crackdown on cryptocurrency different from the tightening regulations around P2P lending?
• Are P2P companies really tech companies, as many claim?
• Can we expect companies like Dianrong to survive this round of government scrutiny?

Links

• 22: P2P lending, retail banking, and the future of online services with Ling Kong
• The Trivium Tip Sheet
• Become a member of TechNode Squared
• Get your tickets to the first annual

Guest

• Andrew Polk, @andrewpolk81

Hosts

• John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode
• Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel

Producer

• Peter Isachenko

Podcast information

• iTunes
• Spotify
• RSS feed
• Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3